Millions of Pounds of Ready-to-Eat Beef, Chicken Recalled Due to Listeria Affected products may have been used in ready-to-eat products that are “on store shelves or in consumers’ refrigerators or freezers,” or available for use by restaurants and other establishments.
almost every week, we read about similar food recalls in the USA. Imagine how common such things happen in other countries.
this is an important issue, since a longer shelf life means more food. How do you keep food safe and cheap? One answer is Chemicals that prolong shelf life but keep food cheap enough for ordinary folks (especially here in the poorer areas of the world). RFK Jr points out these cause long term health problems but hey, the cost benefit ratio means well nourished poor people.
Food recalls not only mean less food available to eat, but foods contaminated with common germs are a big health risk.
Germs cause diarrhea. Usually from the 4 F problem (contaminated FOOD (usually from not being stored correctly...the poor here don't have refrigerators), FINGERS, (not washing hands), FECES (fertilizer not washed off of vegetables, also contaminated water from poorly placed latrines) and FLIES (that carry germs on their feet that land on your food).
So how do you stop bacterial contamination of meats and cheeze and fresh vegetables? Keep it clean, wash your hands, store it properly.
But for countries where food processing plants (not local farmers a mile away) supply your food, one overlooked answer to contamination is radiation to kill germs.
Here is an article about it in the journal Foods in 2023 which is actually discussing using radiation to prevent food contamination with pathogenic germs:
But first they note that this high tech expensive technology should not be the main way to stop food poisoning:
It is essential to note that irradiation is just one aspect of a comprehensive approach to ensuring the microbial safety of meat. Other interventions, such as good manufacturing practices, hygiene controls, and appropriate storage and handling practices, are also crucial for reducing the risk of contamination
but for food processing plants, radiation is another way that could help:
Irradiation has been studied extensively for its efficacy in reducing microbial contamination of meat. By exposing the food to ionizing radiation, the latter reduces or eliminates harmful microorganisms that can cause foodborne illness. Previous research showed that irradiation could effectively reduce levels of pathogens such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli as well as levels of spoilage organisms, leading to improved microbial safety and a reduced risk of foodborne illness.
another technical article discussing not only radiation but UV light Ozone microwaves etc. And how these technologies might help not just with bacteria but with viruses.
this is a news report summary of using radiation from eight years ago:
this is a lecture from MIT from 2019,...It is more technical but he is a good teacher that makes it easy to follow his arguments..
at three minutes in, he notes that you often find small bugs in rice.
We find this is a problem: we grow and sell organic brown rice to upscale supermarkets in Manila and nearby cities. There is no way our small business could afford to radiate the rice to kill the bugs, so we use more traditional ways to keep our rice from spoilage.
When we package the rice, we sift the rice so the small bugs fall through the screen, and then blowtorch it lightly to kill the eggs that didn't detach (and would result in live bugs months later) but not enough to harm the rice.
We also pack it in vacuum bags which extends the shelf life and keeps it dry so it doesn't spoil as quickly.
But then our rice is organic, i.e. no insecticide, and it is brown rice, meaning it has a limited shelf life so it is eaten before the tiny surviving eggs hatch.
As our city modernizes, we have modern supermarkets now that have the same standards of US supermarkets (and higher prices than the traditional markets AKA Palenkes).
But our cook usually buys fresh food every day at the Palenke down the street.
What is a Palenke? An open air market with small vendors selling their wares.
This video by a local comedian is about the wonderfulness of the Filipino Palenke.
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